Social Media Background Check - a popular pre-screening in 2022

A new hire always poses a security risk for your company. For this purpose, background checks are carried out to ensure that you hire the right candidates who do not have any criminal records or illegal and unethical activities in the lives of your potential employees. But it's 2022 and the world breathes technology. There is no one around you who does not have access to the Internet. That's why almost half of the world, roughly 58,4% of people who use social media and spend almost 2 hours and 27 minutes on social apps every day. These social media apps include LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Employers take this as an opportunity to check their applicants based on their social media content. In this blog you will learn everything about social media background checks so that you can use them for your company.

What is a Social Media Background Check?

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As an employer, you probably know what a background check is. A background check determines whether or not an applicant has no illegal acts or criminal record. Traditionally, a background check is conducted by contacting the employee's references or their former employers. But you can learn more from the apps on social media than from the references. Why should candidates provide you with the contact information of their bosses who don't praise them when you contact them to ask questions? To avoid unwanted bias, you need to conduct social media background checks for confirmation. When doing a social media background check, you look at the applicant's profile and pay attention to the type of content they share or the groups they have joined, etc. You also check their comments on posts to see if They engage in bullying or have been harassed online in the past.

You may consider your social media background check for hiring as stalking for hiring. You can learn more about the potential applicant by diving deeper into their social media.

Why do companies use social media background checks?

When you hire an applicant, they represent your company to the outside world. The people they know judge theirs Workplace according to their character. For example, if a person is misogynistic, the people they know might think that the organization they work for may be discriminating against its female employees. How else could a misogynistic applicant survive in a workplace where there is no equal opportunity? Companies today use background checks on social media to protect their company's reputation. You don't want employees with bad character.

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Additionally, the general public is also aware of the importance of background checks on social media. Recently I discovered some screenshots of comments from an employee who works at a reputable company. The comments were inappropriate and fell under the category of sexual harassment. The majority of people commented that the individual should be reported to their organization so that they can take strict action. From one perspective, the employee was on his own on the social media platform. However, from the other perspective, he was a harasser, and if his company had kept him anyway, it would have shown how important workplace harassment issues are at that company. People who are active on social media have an ethical responsibility, and you should hire candidates who understand and act on their responsibilities. This is why companies conduct background checks on social media to prevent exploitation of their brand image.

Candidates eligible for social media background checks

To be on the safe side, employers should conduct a social media background check on all shortlisted candidates they believe are suitable for the position. The verification must be carried out after applicants have been offered the position, which is contingent on verification of their social media background. However, special attention must be paid to candidates who are in the public eye and use social media intensively as part of their work. Examples of candidates eligible for social media background checks include social media managers, HR managers, sales representatives, etc. No matter how limited your time and budget are, social media background checks are crucial , and you definitely have to spend something for it. It's better to increase your hiring budget a little than to pay poor hiring costs that can take up to 30% of your employee's first year income.

Requirements for a Social Media Background Check

To conduct an accurate social media background check, you must meet a few requirements.

1. Outsourcing to a third party

As an employer, you need to outsource this task to a third party to avoid biased decisions on your part. A third party can provide you with all the necessary information you need by using artificial intelligence software. The AI-driven tools locate your applicants across all social media platforms and look for any lewd activities or inappropriate content. This also eases the burden on you while you are busy making hiring decisions and other subsequent evaluation processes. A third-party provider like Accurate is an expert in social media background checks and is knowledgeable about what they do, so you can take the stress out of it and focus on more important tasks that match your expertise.

2. Inform candidates about the background checks and obtain permission

The only way to conduct a background check on your social media applicants is to first inform them and get their consent. You can't just run a social media background check on all shortlisted applicants. You must first offer them a job and give them offer letters. Only after offering them a job can you ask them for permission to run a background check through their social apps. Once you've received permission, you can search for content that you think could jeopardize your company's reputation. If you don't find any such content, you can choose to hire the applicants or otherwise reject them. To avoid legal repercussions, you should get written consent from your applicants so that they can't sue you for violating their privacy if you reject them.

The Importance of Social Media Background Checks

It is important that you research your applicants from all possible sources. This strengthens your hiring decision and helps you avoid doubts. For example, if you hire a person without checking their social media and later discover that their posts are inappropriate, there is little you can do. You can't fire the person later if they are a good employee. But you're certainly risking your company's image. So instead of regretting later, it's important to do social media background checks before hiring.

Use of applicants’ social media profiles

What is the point of collecting information about applicants on their social media platforms and what does this information say? Here's what the background information shows.

1. Work performance

You can make a connection between your candidates' social media activity and their job performance. For example, if they share content during work hours, it can be assumed that they are time wasters at work. You can get an idea simply by making assumptions and data you find. Your assumptions don't have to be exact, but they will always lead you to useful information.

2. Cultural fit

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You can learn about their interests based on the information that applicants share. This will help you figure out whether or not they are a cultural fit for your company. For example, if you value decent language in the work environment and your candidate behaves abusively on various platforms, they may not fit into your culture.

3. Additional qualifications

Applicants can often more years of professional experience Don't include all the details in your resume. Nor can they go into every detail in their interviews due to time constraints. You can use social media background checks to find out what additional skills candidates possess. For example, if graphic design is their hobby, you can find out from their posts. Additionally, if your candidates have an interest in writing, you can discover their blog posts or determine their writing skills based on the posts they share.

Conclusion

We live in a technologically advanced age, and about the best Applicant To find them, you have to start looking for the most suitable candidates. You should utilize social media resources to learn more about your candidates before you end up making a poor hiring decision. This can jeopardize your brand image, and with a ruined image no one would want to work with you. Every company is identified by its employees. If your workforce is good, you can gain a competitive advantage, and if not, you could vanish into thin air in no time. Social media background checks have many benefits, especially if applicants allow them. It is a legal process and you can even reject the applicants if you find them unsuitable without fear of any legal repercussions. As an employer, you should definitely hire one of the many companies that perform social media background checks.